Vijay Kumar — CEO

Vijay Kumar is a globally recognized expert in innovation and human-centered design, with over 40 years of experience in academia, consulting, and thought leadership. His career has been dedicated to transforming complex challenges into opportunities for meaningful innovation. As Professor Emeritus and the Charles L. Owen Endowed Chair in Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Institute of Design in Chicago, Vijay has led the Strategic Innovation Planning and Design Methods programs, playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of design education and practice. During his tenure as the chief methodologist at Doblin Inc. (now part of Deloitte) for more than 12 years, Vijay was instrumental in pioneering structured methodologies that have become essential tools for organizations worldwide. His most notable contribution is the best-selling book 101 Design Methods: A Structured Approach for Driving Innovation in Your Organization, which offers a systematic guide to design-led innovation. This work is widely utilized by professionals, academics, and organizations globally to drive successful innovation initiatives, providing a practical and disciplined approach to innovation. Throughout his career, Vijay has advised and collaborated with a diverse array of organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, governments, and nonprofits, helping them frame systemic innovation opportunities and integrate human-centered methodologies into their strategic planning. His expertise has been sought by prestigious initiatives such as the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge and the Muhammad Bin Rashid Center for Government Innovation. As a frequent speaker, Vijay has delivered several global keynote addresses and conducted numerous workshops on innovation. His current focus is on exploring the frontiers of design thinking, particularly going beyond traditional human-centered design to address the complex, systemic challenges of today’s world. Vijay is developing and using powerful frameworks that shape thought leadership within and across organizations, for successfully inspiring teams and stakeholders to realize ideas as humanized, real-world solutions and systems.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a leader in Design Consulting and Education, specializing in Innovation and Human-centered Design.

Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Experience: 36 yrs 4 mos

Skills

Innovation Consulting
Design Thinking
Innovation Management
Design Strategy

Career Highlights

Pioneered human-centered design methodologies for global organizations.
Authored best-selling book '101 Design Methods' widely used in innovation.
Mentored future design leaders across multiple industries.

Work Experience

Innovation Methods

Principal / Innovation Coach & Consultant (24 yrs 4 mos)

Institute of Design (ID)

Professor and Charles Owen Endowed Chair in Design at Illinois Tech (28 yrs)

Doblin

Chief Methodologist (12 yrs)

Education

Master of Science (MS) at Institute of Design (ID)

Industrial Design (MDes) at National Institute of Design

Bachelor of Science (BS) at University of Kerala

at Model High School

Vijay Kumar

CEO

Chicago, Illinois, United States36 yrs 4 mos experience

Most Likely To SwitchHighly Stable

Key Highlights

Pioneered human-centered design methodologies for global organizations.
Authored best-selling book '101 Design Methods' widely used in innovation.
Mentored future design leaders across multiple industries.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a leader in Design Consulting and Education, specializing in Innovation and Human-centered Design.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

Innovation ConsultingDesign ThinkingInnovation ManagementDesign Strategy

Other Skills

Strategic Innovation ConsultingHuman-centered DesignExecutive WorkshopsMentoringDesign EducationStrategic Innovation PlanningHuman-centered ResearchCollaboration PlatformsStrategic DesignCollaborationHuman-centered Innovation MethodologiesCross-functional Team LeadershipFramework DevelopmentUser-centered DesignUser Experience Design

About

Experience

36 yrs 4 mos

Total Experience

21 yrs 5 mos

Average Tenure

24 yrs 4 mos

Current Experience

Innovation methods

Principal / Innovation Coach & Consultant

Jan 2002 – Present · 24 yrs 4 mos · Chicago, Illinois, United States

As Principal at Innovation Methods, Vijay Kumar leads strategic innovation consulting, empowering organizations to tackle complex challenges with human-centered design. He collaborates with global clients across technology, healthcare, education, and government sectors to integrate innovative frameworks into their business strategies. Vijay conducts executive workshops, provides strategic advisory services, and mentors teams, driving transformative change and sustainable growth. His work continues to influence the future of design thinking and innovation on a global scale.
~ Served in the Advisory Board of the Muhammad Bin Rashid Center for Government Innovation (MBRCGI) at the invitation of UAE Prime Minister’s Office.
~ Design Futures Council named Kumar as an Honorary Senior Fellow for his “significant contributions toward the understanding of changing trends, new research, and applied knowledge that improve the built environment and the human condition.”
~ Presenter, jury member, innovation expert, and advisor for various innovation events at the World Government Summits in 2015, 2016, and 2017 held at Dubai.
~ Conducted executive education programs for academic and professional organizations in Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Japan, India, and other countries. Hong Kong Design Center (HKDC), Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Singapore Polytechnic, and Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP).
~ Mentored innovation leaders in organizations for developing human-centered and systemic innovation competencies. Godrej India, Daishinsha Japan, Infosys, Kraft Foods, SC Johnson, Steelcase, Design Management Institute (DMI), Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).

Strategic Innovation ConsultingHuman-centered DesignExecutive WorkshopsMentoringInnovation ConsultingDesign Thinking

Institute of design (id)

Professor and Charles Owen Endowed Chair in Design at Illinois Tech

Jan 1994 – Jan 2022 · 28 yrs · Chicago, Illinois, United States

Led innovation in design education as the Charles Owen Endowed Chair and Professor Emeritus. Developed and taught the Strategic Innovation Planning and Design Methods programs, influencing global design education. Authored 101 Design Methods, a key text in the field, and mentored the next generation of design leaders. Spearheaded initiatives that bridged academia and industry, integrating cutting-edge methodologies into both research and practice.
~ Developed cutting-edge courses at the IIT Institute of design for human-centered research, systems thinking, and strategic design planning, setting standards to advance design education around the world.
~ Created collaboration platforms to support innovation teams from diverse fields like design, technology, and business.
~ Led design planning projects for AmFam, Amway, Autodesk, Bose, Cigna, Godrej, Infosys, Liberty Mutual, Pitney Bowes, Procter & Gamble, SC Johnson, Steelcase, Target, and T-Mobile for product, service, social, and civic innovations.
~ Advisor to Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge, a program that challenged city leaders to uncover and test bold ideas to confront the toughest problems faced by their cities.
~ Delivered frequent keynote speeches at leading innovation forums around the world on topics of Human-centered design methods and their applications in fields like technology, healthcare, education, and governments.

Design EducationStrategic Innovation PlanningHuman-centered ResearchCollaboration PlatformsDesign ThinkingInnovation Management

Doblin

Chief Methodologist

Jan 1990 – Jan 2002 · 12 yrs · Chicago, Illinois, United States

Pioneered human-centered innovation methodologies at Doblin, guiding Fortune 500 companies and other organizations in transforming innovation challenges into systemic opportunities. Led cross-functional teams in developing frameworks that became industry standards, elevating Doblin to a global leader in innovation consulting. Delivered impactful solutions across diverse sectors, driving strategic projects that shaped the future of design and business strategy.
~ Developed software systems for finding patterns in large sets of human-centered and contextual research findings.
~ Invented methods for visualizing industry-level innovation landscapes for analyzing and finding opportunities for the future.
~ Invented methods for understanding human behaviors, doing context analysis, and conceiving human-centered systems, and turning them into strategic plans for organizations. Alamo, Amoco, Hallmark, McDonald’s, Motorola, Pfizer, Shell, SAS Airlines, Steelcase, Texas Instruments, Wells Fargo.
~ Led design teams to generate customer-centered design concepts, scenarios, roadmaps, strategies, and prototypes for fortune 500 companies, with projects generating consulting revenue of $1M-$2M/year.
~ Facilitated platforms for teams to integrate design innovations with technology capabilities and business strategies.

Human-centered Innovation MethodologiesCross-functional Team LeadershipFramework DevelopmentInnovation ManagementDesign Strategy